(from the article `As You Like It`) ...with his faithful old servant Adam. Soon Rosalind is banished too, merely for being the daughter of the out-of-favour Duke Senior. She flees to ...Found on http://www.britannica.com/eb/a-z/t/66

• (n.) Any test or criterion by which the qualities of a thing are tried. • (n.) Lydian stone; basanite; -- so called because used to test the purity of gold and silver by the streak which is left upon the stone when it is rubbed by the metal. See Basanite.Found on http://thinkexist.com/dictionary/meaning/touchstone/

[As You Like It] Touchstone is a fictional character in Shakespeare`s play As You Like It. Touchstone is the court jester of duke Frederick, the usurper`s court. Throughout the play he comments on the other characters and thus contributes to a better understanding of the play. Touchstone falls in love with a dull-witted goat girl named Audr...Found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchstone_(As_You_Like_It)

[assaying tool] A touchstone is a small tablet of dark stone such as fieldstone, slate, or lydite, used for assaying precious metal alloys. It has a finely grained surface on which soft metals leave a visible trace. ==History== The touchstone was used in ancient Greece. Its role in the introduction of monetary economy was explored by scienc...Found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchstone_(assaying_tool)

[metaphor] As a metaphor, a touchstone refers to any physical or intellectual measure by which the validity or merit of a concept can be tested. It is similar in use to an acid test, litmus test in politics, or, from a negative perspective, a shibboleth where the criterion is considered by some to be out-of-date.{clarify|date=September 2012...Found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchstone_(metaphor)

Touch'stone` noun 1. (Min.) Lydian stone; basanite; -- so called because used to test the purity of gold and silver by the streak which is left upon the stone when it is rubbed by the metal. See Basanite . 2. Fig.: Any test or criterion by which the qualities of a thing are...Found on http://www.encyclo.co.uk/webster/T/75

1. <chemical> Lydian stone; basanite; so called because used to test the purity of gold and silver by the streak which is left upon the stone when it is rubbed by the metal. See Basanite. ... 2. Any test or criterion by which the qualities of a thing are tried. 'The foregoing doctrine affords us also a touchstone for the trial of spirits. ......Found on http://www.encyclo.co.uk/local/20973

A black jasper or flinty slate (later replaced by Wedgwoods black Jasperware pottery) used for testing gold and silver by rubbing the metal on the stone and comparing the streak with that made by needles of known fineness. The method was inaccurate and was replaced by a chemical method of assaying c.1840 which in turn was replaced by the Gay-Lussa...Found on http://freespace.virgin.net/a.data/glossaryframes.htm

A touchstone is a device for roughly ascertaining the purity of gold alloys. It consists of a smooth strip of hard black stone, on which a corner of the alloy is rubbed so as to leave a streak, which is then moistened with an acid composed of 78.4 per cent nitric acid, 1.6 per cent hydrochloric acid and 20 per cent water. By comparing the effect wi...Found on http://www.diracdelta.co.uk/science/source/t/o/touchstone/source.html

A touchstone is a device for roughly ascertaining the purity of gold alloys. It consists of a smooth strip of hard black stone, on which a corner of the alloy is rubbed so as to leave a streak, which is then moistened with an acid composed of 78.4% nitric acid, 1.6% hydrochloric acid and 20% water. By comparing the effect with that produced on stre...Found on http://www.probertencyclopaedia.com/browse/GT.HTM

archaic or obsolete terms > Stones & Minerals: Lydian stone; basanite; so called because it is used to test the purity of gold and silver by the streak which is left upon the stone when it is rubbed by the metal. see basanite. Any test or criterion by which the qualities of a thing are tried.
Found on http://www.skyscript.co.uk/glossarytt.html

Touchstone is a clown in As You Like It. He is described as shooting his wit under the guise of folly, and accompanies Celia and Rosalind on their adventures in the Forest of Arden.Found on http://www.probertencyclopaedia.com/KE.HTM

Touchstone, also known as Indian Stone, is a hard, black variety of quartz. Touchstone is traditionally used for making a rough approximation of the fineness of gold, the gold being rubbed across the touchstone leaves a streak which is then moistened with a mixture pf nitric acid and hydrochloric acid. A comparison of the effects of the mixture on ...Found on http://www.probertencyclopaedia.com/browse/HT.HTM

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